“Charlie Wilson’s War,” review by Susan Granger

Ever wonder why we’re fighting in Afghanistan – and how we got involved there in the first place?

Investigative “60 Minutes” reporter George Crile came up with a surprising answer in his astute 2004 best-seller which Aaron Sorkin (“The American President,” TV’s “West Wing”) shrewdly adapts for the screen.

Apparently, it’s all because of Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks), a swingin’ Democratic Congressman from East Texas. Seen naked in a hot tub, boozing and snorting with strippers in Las Vegas, Charlie is a male chauvinist, admittedly hiring his office staff based on their measurements and pulchritude. He’s also vulnerable, particularly when approached by a beautiful constituent like wealthy Houston socialite Joanne Herring (Julia Roberts), an outspoken anti-Communist who wants to arm the Afghan militia to fight the Russians who have invaded their country.

To that end, she arranges for Charlie to meet with Pakistan’s President Zia ul-Haq (Om Puri) in Islamabad and visit an Afghan refugee camp. At Charlie’s side is maverick CIA agent, Gust Avrakotos (Philip Seymour Hoffman), who cleverly brokers a covert deal for Israel to sell Russian-made weapons to the Afghan ‘freedom fighters’ – and the Soviet-made Stinger missiles convince Soviet troops to retreat in 1989. But by arming the ‘mujahedin,’ Charlie Wilson inadvertently set the stage for Al Qaeda and Islamic Fundamentalism.

To propel this truth-is-stranger-than-fiction, geopolitical deal-making caper, Mike Nichols’ fast-paced direction takes an ironic, satirical, often shallow tone, as does Tom Hanks’ cynical “Good Time Charlie” characterization. Scene-stealing Philip Seymour Hoffman is terrific but Julia Roberts just coasts through, often eclipsed by Amy Adams (“Enchanted”) as Wilson’s long-suffering personal assistant.

On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Charlie Wilson’s War” is a lively, enlightening 8 – and the real Charlie Wilson is retired and living in Lufkin, Texas.